"In a spirit of fairness, the team of judges has decided to postpone the announcement of the top three winners." The host said and at his words, the audience went wild.
"Why would you do that? Why would you postpone the announcement??!" Was the unified cry of the people present who longed to hear their winners.
"If there are perfumes that are exactly the same, it's best to disqualify both parties, right? Why would you need to postpone the announcements altogether?" People kept crying and the reporters were eager to get every bit of what was going down on camera.
The confusion of the day was bound to make the headlines the very next day.
Antonio turned to the host very confidently, and was arrogant in his stride, "The people are right. If disqualifications need to be made, then so be it. But the winners need to be announced. It is why we are all here after all."
"Of course, anyone guilty of plagiarism will have what's coming for them." Antonio finished proudly.
In his head and heart, he was innocent and had nothing to worry about.
After all, the formula had always been Jasmine's work….and Jasmine had always belonged to him.
And his countenance was soon the center of attention.
With Jasmine gone, framed, and too busy trying to clear her name, no one would ever discover the truth behind their perfumes.
To them, she was nothing more than a stepping stone.
A tool, ghost worker and their ticket to great fortune.
The host still said nothing, but his silence didn't bother Antonio. Antonio only cared about winning, as well as giving prestige to Flora, who stood beside him, beaming proudly. As though they both weren't trying to stand upon the foundation built by another woman's toil and work.
Their minds were reeling with possibilities at that moment. Like how the attention they got right then was all they needed to skyrocket their perfume. After all, the bigger the recognition they got, the greater were the possibilities of their sales.
So it was okay with them if the crowds were getting a bit out of control then. It only meant a bigger market when they one.
They wouldn't even need any form of publicity after this.
All that was left, was making sure that Jasmine kept working the way she did. She was, after all, their ticket to fortune.
The host didn't share their thinking, he looked with displeasure at the crowds that were getting out of control and turned just in time to see a young fellow running toward him.
The man whispered into his ears about the organizing team changing their mind and wanting to announce the winners. They also wanted to announce the two companies that had the same perfumes and the host reiterated the news to the crowd of people.
"Alright, seems like there's been a change of plans. The team has decided to announce the names of the perfumes that both companies share. The first company titled the perfume Jamio."
Antonio and Flora both stared in complete shock to hear the name of the perfume they both entered.
It was Jasmine who had named the perfume. A combination of both Antonio's name and hers. She had smiled and told him how she longed for the perfume to be what skyrocketed their company toward greatness.
Only Jasmine, Flora, and Antonio knew about this. So how was it, Antonio wondered, that another company had an entry just like it?
When the roar of the crows died down, the host cleared his throat and continued, "The other company that submitted the same entry was is from a county called Roodles and the perfume was titled Jamio."
As soon as this announcement was made, the crowd once again went wild.
Roodles was a very known company, a subset of very powerful perfume company in Venice. D'angelo inc. It was hard to conceive that they'd submitted a photocopy of another company's perfume.
Antonio was yet to fully register the gravity of the matter and turned to the host, "How did this other company get the formula and name for my perfume? How is that even possible?" he asked defiantly. He wasn't afraid of making trouble in that arena. He was more interested in winning. And a certain company was in his way.
But even as he thought about it, doubt crawled up his spine.
Because lately, Jasmine had changed.
She disappeared often and missed his calls frequently.
Just that morning, security told him she had tried to remove files from the lab before Flora 'caught' her.
His chest tightened.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
And then, at that moment, a fierce-looking woman began walking toward them,
"Can someone tell me what is wrong with the perfume I created?"
All eyes turned to the woman who spoke. The light shone on her radiant skin that was clothed with a pale blue dress, that had a slit that exposed her long, slim leg. She was beautiful, and Mild makeup accentuated that. Many thought she was an angel.
And standing just a step behind her was Lorenzo, the chief assistant of Jasper D'Angelo himself.
The crowd stirred instantly.
"Isn't that D'Angelo's man?"
"Wait… why is he with her?"
Antonio's face drained of color.
Flora's fingers tightened around his sleeve.
Jasmine stopped directly in front of them.
Antonio was the first to speak up, "Jas? But what are you doing here?"
She didn't answer immediately.
Because for the first time in five years… she wasn't standing behind him.
She was standing against him.